Wheel banking device



June 13, 1939.

F. H. DREYER WHEEL BANKING DEVICE Filed March 12, 1938 fm enior Fla 0 hi Dre er .5 y

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Patented June 13, 1939 UNITED STATES WHEEL BANKING DEVICE Floyd H. Dreyer, Indianapolis, Ind.

Application March 12,

3 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements for banking the wheels of motor cars, that is, sloping them in opposition to the action of centrifugal force in traveling around curves to coun- 5 teract the tendency of the car to be thrown centrifugally off of the track at such places.

Another object is to cause the wheels to be banked automatically and properly by a tilting of the frame and body of the car as caused by the natural lean or change from a vertical position of the bodies of the occupants while rapidly rounding a curve.

The object also is to enable the ground wheels to move individually in a vertical plane in passing over localized bumps in the road without transmitting a corresponding movement to the Wheel of the pair on the other side of the car, and the object is to rectify the movement of the wheels as well as to tilt them.

I accomplish the above and other objects which will hereinafter appear, by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. l is a view in elevation of the end of the frame and fragment of the body of a car mounted on a pair of wheels and equipped with my invention, as the parts appear running straight ahead;

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the same parts in their changed positions assumed for banking, and

Fig. 3 is a view, similar to Fig. 2, of a modified form of my invention, and Fig. 4 is a fragment in top plan and section on the line 44 of Fig. 1.

Like characters of reference indicate like parts in the several views of the drawing.

My invention may be applied to the front wheels, rear wheels, or both, and in the following description and claimsshall be so considered, without further statement to that effect.

A ground wheel 4' is mounted on an axle 5. The inner end of the axle is formed with an extension 6, extending above and below the axle.

In like manner the ground wheel 1 is mounted on an axle 8 having an extension 9 on its inner end extending above and below the axle. A lever I is pivoted at its middle to the upper end of extension 6 and'a like lever II is similarly pivoted to the upper end of extension 9.

The car body I2 is mounted on a yoke l3 which is a part of the frame of the car.

The yoke 13 has a block extension l4, here shown as cast as an integral part of the yoke. It has a top bearing surface upon which a leaf spring is laid and bolted.

The block l4 rests upon and is supported by a 1938, Serial No. 195,459

leaf spring [6. The block is bolted to the spring IS. The respective ends of the spring l5 are pivotally attached to the upper ends of the levers l9 and II, and the respective ends of the spring I6 are pivotally attached to the lower ends of the extensions 6 and 9.

Fixed rigidly to the block [4 are cranks I1 and I8, each of which terminates with a ball.

Pivotally attached to the lower end of the lever I [I is a rod 19, having a socket 2|] on its inner end which receives the ball on the end of the crank l1.

Pivotally attached to the lower end of lever H is a rod 2|, having a socket 22 on its inner end which receives the ball on the end of the crank 18.

The spring l5 approaches a straight condition in banking which holds the upper ends of the levers I0 and H relatively immovable and in like manner the spring [6 holds the lower ends of the hub extensions 6 and 9 relatively immovable but the link I9, in the banking position of Fig. 2 pulls on the lower end of lever l0 and the rod 2| pushes at the same time on the lower end of lever II by reason of their jointed connection with cranks I8 and I9. This tilts the axle extensions 6 and 9 in the direction to tilt or bank the wheels 4 and l.

The connection between the cranks on the block I 4 and the lower ends of levers l6 and H is by two rods l9 and 2| in order to enable a ground wheel on either side to ride over a bump local to that wheel by a vertical travel of the wheel without transmitting the disturbed movement to the wheel on the other side of the car.

In the modification shown in Fig. 3 a leaf spring I5 is bolted to the top of the block M of yoke l3 and the ends of the spring are pivoted to the lower ends of the axle extensions 6 and 9', and a rod I9 is pivoted to the upper end of extension 6 at one end and to the lower end of block M at the other. The block [4 is connected with the upper end of extension 9 by a rod 2!. The two wheels 4 and l are banked as shown in Fig. 3, but there is no vertical travel afiorded to the individual wheels as in the device of Figs. 1 and 2.

Changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the scope of my invention and I, therefore, do not desire to be limited to the exact form shown and described except as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a wheel banking device, a pair of spreadapart axles each having an upper and a lower vertical extension on their inner ends, a frameyoke having a block, a leaf spring attached at each end to the lower extensions of the axles and at its middle to the block, a lever for each axle 8 pivoted at its middle to theupper extension of the axle, a leaf spring connected at its ends with the upper ends of the two levers'and at its middle with the upper part of the block, and rod connections between the lower part of the block- 107 and the lower ends of the two levers. p V

2. In a wheel banking device, a pair of spreadapart axles each having an upper and a lower vertical extension on their inner ends, a frame: -yoke having a b1ock,'a leaf spring attachedat 15 each end to the lower extensions ,of the axles and at its middle to the block, a lever for each axle pivoted at its middle to the 'upperextension of the axle, a leaf spring connected at itsends with the upper ends of the two levers and at its 20 middle with the upper part of the block and a r the other lever.

upper extensions of the axle, a leaf spring connected at its ends with the upper ends of the two levers and at its middle with the upper part of the block, and a' pair of rods one of which is pivotally connected with the block at one end 15 and with the lower end of a lever at the other end and a second rod pivotally connected with th block at one end and with the lower end of FLOYD H. V DREYER. 20 

